The report says 2015 was a year of "mega rounds", with over 60
rounds of $50 million (£35.2 million) or more invested last year
alone, compared to just 15 between 2011 and 2013.

KPMG and CB Insights say 2015 was "the year that fintech entered
the mainstream," saying: "Almost every major process within
banking and insurance is being targeted by fintech companies
globally, either to disrupt the incumbents or, increasingly, to
enable them to serve their customers better or reduce costs."

However, drilling into the data, it looks like we may have passed
a peak for investment in the sector, rather than seeing it
continue to spike in 2016.

Deal activity fell in the final two quarters of the year, with a
particularly steep drop-off in the final quarter of the
year.KPMG/CB Insights

KPMG and CB Insights say:

As investors grew more cautious toward the end of 2015, total
global VC investment dropped significantly – from $38.7 billion
to $27.2 billion between Q3 and Q4. Fintech also experienced a
similar decrease – from $4.7 billion to $1.7 billion over the
same period. This drop was likely a reflection of growing caution
across all areas of VC investment, rather than a concern with
fintech in particular.

While caution is expected to continue to be a trend over the next
few quarters, fintech interest is not likely to be held back for
long. For the short-term, corporate investment in fintech will
likely take center stage as corporates pursue longer term
objectives associated with the perceived value that fintech can
provide to their own organizations.

Ebury
founders Salvador Garcia, left, and Juan Lobato. Ebury had one of
the biggest funding rounds in Europe last
year.Ebury

Spanish bank BBVA is the latest big corporate to get in on the
fintech party,
recently spinning out a $150 million (£105.5 million) fund to
invest in fintech startups. Santander also has a $100 million
(£70.3 million) fund and Citi has also been active in backing
fintech businesses. KPMG and CB Insights say corporates have
participated in at least 25% of funding deals for the last three
quarters straight. Startup funding usually comes from tech
venture capital funds, not banks.

The report shows Europe seriously lags the US and Asia when it
comes to fintech funding, with just $1.5 billion (£1 billion) of
the $13.8 billion total going to European-based businesses. The
reports authors blame this on a lack of mega-rounds in Europe.

Within Europe, the UK is the clear leader when it comes to
fintech funding. British fintech startups raised $962 million
(£676.9 million) of the $1.5 billion total (trade
body Innovate Finance puts the total at $901 million). London
alone accounting for $743.7 million (£523.3 million) of that.
Britain's fintech VC total is a thumping 398% bigger than that of
its nearest rival, Germany.

UK-based companies accounted for six of the 10 biggest fintech
fundraises last year. They were: